After witnessing a stellar 9-4 season last year, many members of the Wolfpack faithful were expecting a season where the team would finally be in a position to challenge for top honors as well as the ACC championship, and be ranked higher than the previous year. But it’s not meant to be.
Having started the year full of uncertainty concerning the decision as to who would get the quarterback position, fans have gone through a lot of emotional turmoil and heartbreak. And finally, when they were coming to terms with the changes, the Wolfpack decided to self-destruct. Five games into a season that promised so much, the Pack are already 2-3 with a 0-2 record in the ACC, with both their wins coming only against FCS schools.
It’s that time when everybody starts pointing fingers, and passionate fans start to get disgruntled with the way the team performs. It has reached a point where student tickets, which are usually so hard to get, are freely distributed by various groups on Facebook, showing the extent to which the fans have lost faith in the team.
Matthew Daniels, a junior in biological and agricultural engineering, admitted he had very high expectations for the team before the start of the season.
“I expected Russell Wilson to come back and this was supposed to be his last year… this was supposed to be our break out season,” Daniels said. “We were supposed to peak this year.”
Daniels also claimed that all of his expectations for the season have been dashed, but still remain hopeful of the Wolfpack bouncing back.
“Not to be a pessimist but I don’t think we are going to win very many this year. My only hope is that we beat UNC ,” Daniels said. “When the team gives up three touchdowns in 10 minutes, you can’t expect much for the rest of the season, but I am always hopeful.”
Jude Jackson, a sophomore in psychology, admitted that he started feeling very indifferent about the whole situation after the loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday.
“My first and only reaction was resignation,” Jackson said. “No need to get worked up over a bad product.”
Jackson chose not to blame any person, but felt it was the injuries that were hurting the team the most and that if the team didn’t get its act together quickly, the season could end up as a disaster.
“The massive amount of injuries—it really is getting weird how many we have,” Jackson said. “If we don’t shape up, the season could end very badly.”
Ian Jones, a senior in chemistry, admitted that he was not expecting anything different from what the final result was on Saturday.
“I was not surprised by the outcome,” Jones said. “I knew it was going to be a tough game but still wanted to support the Pack.”
Jones had a very different view from most when quizzed on whether the change in quarterback was one of the main reasons the team was suffering.
“I was glad Tom [O’Brien] finally let Russell [Wilson] go,” Jones said. “He should have practiced with the team instead of trying to play baseball.”
Despite being dissatisfied with the way the team had performed, Jones showed his true Wolfpack spirit by claiming to support the team through thick and thin during the season, no matter what the outcome may turn out to be.
“I will go to all of the games this year no matter how good or bad we might do,” Jones said. “The players always need encouragement and fans.”
